


Ergo,

by GirasolGeminiRose



Category: Game of Thrones (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Arya is not good with feelings, F/M, Light Angst, Minor Jon Snow/Ygritte, Minor Podrick Payne/Sansa Stark, Stark sisters love each other
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-29
Updated: 2019-06-29
Packaged: 2020-05-30 21:22:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,105
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19411654
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GirasolGeminiRose/pseuds/GirasolGeminiRose
Summary: “I love you, Arya.”Arya’s eyes widened, and her mouth opened slightly in shock.  She gave Gendry a soft look and held his hand tighter.“Thank-you.”





	Ergo,

**Author's Note:**

> I’m re-watching “90210” and, when I got to the part where Dixon first tell Silver he loves her, my immediate first though was “oh wow this works really well with Gendrya.” So please accept this piece inspired by trash teen TV. =P
> 
> Hope you like it! As always, I appreciate (and would actually really like) any and all constructive criticism. =)

“God, they make me sick.” Arya grumbled, looking away from where Sansa and Podrick were giggling while baking in the kitchen.

Gendry looked up from his thesis outline in time to see Podrick brush a soft kiss to Sansa’s temple as she whispered a sweet “I love you” to him.

“Not a big fan of public displays of affection, m’lady?” He teased.

Arya rolled her eyes and gave his shoulder a small shove as she draped herself across his legs, just like a cat. It was time for a study break, he supposed.

“I don’t know why I thought you’d stop calling me that when we started dating. Tell me, Gendry, what’s it like to use neckbeard, fedora-tipping terminology on someone who willingly makes out with you and could stop whenever she so chose to?”

“Maybe I’d stop if you didn’t have such a visceral reaction, _m’lady_.” Gendry replied, softly tickling Arya’s side.

Arya giggled at him to stop, no force behind her words. She finally settled on a comfortable position and grabbed Gendry’s hand, placing it on her scalp. Gendry caught the not-so-subtle hint and stroked her hair, Arya sighing happily.

“Lemon cakes, anyone?” Sanasa announced brightly, bringing over a small platter while Podrick followed behind her, holding a pitcher of iced tea.

Gendry grabbed a few and ate with gusto, feeding Arya every couple of bites.

“These are even better than usual, Sansa. And that’s saying something.” Arya said.

Sansa’s cheeks turned a soft pink and she looked over at Podrick adoringly.

“Oh, it’s all thanks to Pod! He made a few adjustments to my usual recipe and, what can I say? He’s just magic.”

“Just following Hot Pie’s suggestions, love.” Podrick whispered shily.

“Well I’m sure Hot Pie’s recommendations are great, but I still insist you’re magic.” Sansa giggled, pressing a kiss to Podrick’s cheek.

Podrick beamed back at Sansa as Arya rolled her eyes and groaned.

“Jesus Christ get a fucking room.”

Sansa turned to glare at her sister.

“Well, if you insist…” she began, reaching for the platter.

Arya scrambled off of Gendry’s lap and grabbed the platter, holding it close to her chest.

“Now now, there’s no need to involve the cakes.”

***************************

“I think we have a definite record,” Gendry said as he started up the X-Box for him and Hot Pie. “I counted fourteen eyerolls and twelve huffs. And that was just in the first seven minutes. I had to stop keeping track, otherwise I wouldn't have even had time to _open_ my textbook, let alone study.”

This was a game they’d started playing long before Gendry and Arya started dating. Counting how many times Arya rolled her eyes in a single conversation proved to be strangely entertaining.

“Damn, son. What’s got her so annoyed lately?” Hot Pie laughed as he set up the game. “Well, I guess what’s got her _more_ annoyed than usual?”

“Think it’s Pod and Sansa. They’ve been particularly PDA-y ever since they finally vocalized their undying love for each other. And you know how Arry is about PDA.”

Hot Pie paused the game and turned to look at Gendry.

“You, my friend, are an absolute idiot.”

“The fuck you on about? C’mon, man. Start the game again.” Gendry went to reach for Hot Pie’s controller, but Hot Pie lunged to unplug the console before he could.

“Hot Pie! What the fuck?!”

“I am TRYING to save your relationship, Gendry!”

Gendry looked at him as if he had three heads.

“You need to back up about fifty steps and explain what the fuck you are talking about.”

Hot Pie groaned, as if _Gendry_ were the one who was making no sense.

“How long have Pod and Sansa been together, Gen?” he asked.

“About six months?”

“And you and Arya?”

“Three months before them.”

Hot Pie stared meaningfully at Gendry, as if waiting for him to comprehend… _something_.

Gendry just stared back.

“Fuck’s sake you really are stupid,” Hot Pie sighed. “She wants you to tell her you love her!”

At that, Gendry had to laugh.

“Arya? _My_ Arya? Arya _Stark_?” Gendry let out a full-bellied laugh. “Hot Pie, you know how Arya is about all that lovey-dovey stuff.”

“So, you do love her.”

“Of _course_ I love her.”

“And she knows this.”

“Absolutely.”

“Because you’ve told her.”

Gendry paused.

“I mean. I don’t _have_ to, you know? Like. I _show_ her. All the time!”

“Gendry Gendry Gendry,” Hot Pie tsked, throwing an arm around Gendry’s shoulders. “Imagine you have a brother. A brother to whom you’ve been compared to your whole life, always being made to feel like the lesser one. Then you get this girlfriend, right? And everything’s cool. Then a few months later, your brother gets a girlfriend, too. And before you know it, she’s telling him she loves him. And things are good with your girlfriend, but she _hasn’t_ said she loves you. And you’ve been dating for _longer_. How would _you_ feel?”

Gendry scrunched his face in confusion.

“But Arya’s–”

“Arya is _still_ a girl! With girl feelings! Tell her you love her, you fucking twat!”

***************************

Arya had been talking for the past five minutes, telling Gendry a no-doubt hilarious anecdote about her day,

Gendry had not registered a single word.

“–so then I started making out with Meera…”

Wait, what?

“Wait, _what_?!’

“There we go!” Arya laughed. “You have absolutely not been paying the _slightest_ bit of attention, have you? I started rambling nonsense about halfway through. Figures the lady love is what gets your attention.”

Gendry blushed, ducking his head.

“Sorry, babe. I’ve just… I’ve got some stuff on my mind.”

“Is everything okay?” Arya asked, worried.

“No no, everything’s fine! Everything… everything’s great, actually.” He reached over to grasp her hand, softly stroking it with his thumb.

“I love you, Arya.”

Arya’s eyes widened, and her mouth opened slightly in shock. She gave Gendry a soft look and held his hand tighter.

“Thank-you.”

Gendry paused, waiting. And when it became obvious nothing else was coming, he felt like he’d been slapped.

“Tha– that’s it?” He asked before he could stop himself.

Arya’s face immediately closed off.

“What’s wrong?’ she asked in a challenging tone.

“Nothing, just… just forget about it.” Gendry mumbled back, fumbling for the menu to distract himself.

“What, seriously?! You’re _angry_ with me?!” Arya yelled, attracting the attention of the waitress in the otherwise (thankfully) empty diner.

“Arya, come on. I said forget about it.”

“I’m sorry, I just didn’t realize I _had_ to say something back to you. Must’ve missed _that_ particular clause in our relationship contract.”

“Arya, _stop_!”

“ _Screw you, Gendry!”_ she yelled, stomping out of the diner before Gendry could even react.

***************************

The past weekend had been the most miserable of Gendry’s entire life. The only thing that made him feel slightly not-terrible was Hot Pie spending virtually all of it at his beck and call, baking him various pastries and apologizing profusely.

With everything in mind, he wasn’t sure whether or not he was relieved when he went to answer the door and found a wide-eyed Arya on the other side, hands nervously clasped in front of her.

(Of course he’s relieved, he’s the idiot who fell in love with her.)

“Jon’s not here. Date with Ygritte. Should be back in an hour or two.” Gendry reached to close the door, but Arya darted in before he could.

“Gen, please. Come on. I’m… I’m sorry for freaking out on you, I jus–” Gendry pulled her in for a bone-crushing hug before she could continue, his resolve finally breaking.

“I’m sorry, too. Let’s just not talk about it, okay? Let’s just forget about it.” he said, framing her face with his hands.

“Yeah? Okay, sounds good to me.” Arya let out a breath she’d been holding and reached up to kiss Gendry.

***************************

It’s been almost two weeks, and Gendry can’t keep pretending like everything’s okay.

“But… but you said– I mean, I guess you didn’t _say_ but we agreed to forget about it, to not talk about it. I thought things were fine, Gendry.” Arya said, pacing back and forth in front of the couch Gendry was currently sitting on, staring down sadly at the floor.

“I _wanted_ things to be okay, Arya. I really did.” he whispered softly, voice catching slightly.

“So now what?” Arya asked, trying desperately to stop the tears from welling up in her eyes.

“So I’m breaking up with you,” Gendry said, his voice breaking.

Arya scoffed angrily.

“So what, one moment you love me and the next you’re breaking up with me?”

Gendry looked up, eyes flashing with hurt.

“Arya, that’s not fair. I just… I’m not into the whole unrequited love thing, and I–”

“Yeah, okay, got it. Loud and clear.”

And before Gendry could react, Arya was gone, slamming the door behind her.

***************************

Sansa yelped in surprise, book falling to the floor as her bedroom door was slammed open.

“ _Arya?!_ ” she asked, her sister angrily slamming her door shut.

“I’m gonna start by saying that I _know_ this isn’t your fault, okay? I know that. But right now, I just _really_ need to be angry, because otherwise I’ll just… I don’t know. I just need to be angry and take it out on someone and you’re my sister and you love me, so I know you’ll let me do this and also because while it’s not your fault it kind of _is_ your fault! You and Podrick.”

Sansa tilted her head in confusion.

“Wait, _Podrick_? What could _he_ possibly have to do with anything?”

“It’s the two of you! Always being all lovey-dovey in front of everyone, always saying you love each other. I’m happy for you, Sans, you _know_ I am. But just… I don’t know. All the public displays of affection… they must’ve given Gendry _ideas_ because next thing I know, he’s telling me he loves me!”

Sansa’s eyes lit up, but before she could say anything, Arya continued.

“And then he had the _audacity_ to get upset when I didn’t say it back. What, like it’s _required_? So I left, obviously. But I just… I _missed_ him, you know? He’s my best friend, has been since way before we got together. So I went over, you know? To apologize, I guess. And _he_ was the one who said we shouldn’t talk about it, to just forget. And I thought things were fine! They _were_ fine! Why can’t things _just. be. FINE_!” Arya screamed, grabbing Sansa’s multitude of pillows and throwing them all around the room in frustration.

“Arya, Arya _stop_ it. Stop before you break something!” Sansa grabbed her sister and forced her to sit at the foot of the bed, kneeling in front of her only to see her crying. Sansa paused for a moment, shocked. She genuinely could not remember ever seeing her sister like this.

“He broke up with me,” Arya sobbed.

“But… but this makes no sense!” Sansa said, sitting next to Arya and holding her hand while trying to get her sister to look at her.

“You love Gendry, it’s obvious!”

“Sansa, stop it. I don’t want to talk about it.” Arya started to rise but Sansa forced her back down.

“Fine fine, no mention of the L-word. But as facts stand, you and Gendry are _perfect_ together. There are no other two souls destined for each other the way you two are. I think… maybe Gendry just got upset because he feels you’re not as serious about him as he is? I don’t think it’s about the actual _saying_ that you love him, since he’s only just said it himself even though it’s been obvious to anyone with eyes since before you two even started dating. God, am I even making any sense?” Sansa giggled nervously.

“He doesn’t… he doesn’t _mean_ it, Sansa. I mean, he _thinks_ he does, he would never say something like that if he didn’t think he meant it but… urgh!” Arya groaned and threw her hands over her face, frustrated.

“He _thinks_ he loves me, but he doesn’t. And eventually he’ll realize it. Realize he could do _so_ much better than fucking Arya Horseface and I just… _ugh_ I don’t know! It’s better this way, I suppose. Things were bound to end eventually. Better sooner than later, I suppose.”

“Arya, I… I didn’t know you felt like that?” Sansa said, looking down at her sadly.

“Whatever, it’s stupid.”

“It’s _not_!” Sansa replied sharply. “I’m sorry people always compared us, I’m sorry I encouraged it when we were younger. I’m _sorry_ that people weren’t able to see all the beauty in you.”

Arya rolled her eyes.

“Do _not_ roll your eyes at that, Arya Stark. You _are_ beautiful. And not beautiful in a ‘nonconventional way’ or whatever bullshit like that. You may not have Tully hair or Tully eyes, but you have the _best_ of the Stark features. And not only that, but you are _fierce_ and _loyal_ and _the best_ sister on the planet and _of course_ Gendry’s in love with you, you idiot!”

Sansa rose from the bed, pulling Arya with her and towards the door.

“Now I know this is the last thing you want to do, but for God’s sake go over there and talk about your _bloody_ feelings!”

***************************

Out of all four boys who lived in the house, Arya was surprised when none of them opened the door.

“Hey there, little Stark. Ya brother’s gone out to pick us up some food. Wanna stay? I’m sure ya boy toy will be here soon, too”

Arya forced a smile.

“Thanks, Ygritte. But I’m actually looking for… um, Hot Pie. I thought we’d made plans but uh, maybe not.”

Before Ygritte could respond, Arya felt someone come up behind her.

“Arya?”

She turned around and greeted her brother.

“Hey!” she said casually, unsure of whether or not Gendry had informed him. “How’s it going?”

“Oh you know, same old same old.” Jon answered. So he hadn’t heard.

“Ya know where the fat one’s at, babe? Arry here’s looking for him.” Ygritte grabbed the food from Jon and pranced over to the kitchen, not bothering to wait for a response.

“Sorry, Arya. I’m not sure where Hot Pie is. Maybe at the bakery?”

Arya huffed out a small, nervous laugh.

“Yeah, maybe. Okay well uh, thanks! Gotta go!”

Arya stopped in the doorway, Jon’s voice behind her.

“ _Gendry_ , however, I’m pretty sure is over at the library. Working on his thesis, you know.” Jon’s tone was full of meaning.

So he did hear.

Arya looked up, eyes wide.

“Just in case you were wondering,” Jon casually finished.

***************************

“My my, aren’t you the studious one today?”

Gendry looked up to see Margaery had taken the seat across from him.

“I had no idea you even knew where the library was,” he teased.

“Why would I bother with a public library when my grandmother’s personal one is _much_ better?” she replied, laughing.

“So why _are_ you here?” Gendry asked.

Margaery rolled her eyes affectionately.

“I’m supposed to meet this _really_ cute girl from my econ class. Tutoring. I can use all the help I can get, you know?”

Gendry arched his eyes in confusion.

“Don’t you have an A-plus in that class?”

Margaery smirked.

“Yes, but what I _don’t_ have is a confirmed date with this girl. So I figured I’ll act like I need help, work my charms, and voilà!”

“And you can’t just _ask_ her out? Like a normal person?”

Margery leaned in close, placed her hand on Gendry’s shoulder, and smirked.

“Now what would be the fun in that?”

Gendry laughed.

Margaery started to say something when a loud, angry voice interrupted her.

“I _knew_ you weren’t a lesbian!” Arya screeched, appearing seemingly out of nowhere.

“Arya? What are you on about?” Margaery asked, confusion clear on her face.

“Is this your latest game? What, all so you could get close to Gendry? Fucking crazy bitch.” Arya continued rabidly, attracting the attention of the librarian across the room.

Margaery huffed.

“Gendry, come get your girl.”

Before Gendry could respond, Arya let out a scoff.

“Except that I’m _not_ his girl. ‘Cuz he dumped me. Or haven’t you heard?”

Margaery’s look of surprise is quickly overlooked by the librarian reaching the table.

“I’m going to have to ask you to _please quiet down_ ,” she whispered sharply, “otherwise you’ll hav–“

“Oh fuck off, lady. I’m leaving, so you can un-twist your fucking knickers.” Arya spat, quickly rushing out the door.

Gendry quickly began to pack up his things when Margaery scoffed.

“Just go after her, you idiot! I can watch your stuff.”

***************************

Arya was halfway down the block when she heard Gendry’s voice behind her.

“Arya! Arya, stop! Arya, come on!”

“ _Leave me alone!_ ” she yelled, whipping around only to find him directly behind her.

“Arya, what _was_ all of that?!”

“Nothing! I don’t know! Just forget about it! Go back to Margaery.”

Gendry scoffed, incredulous.

“ _Margaery_ is waiting on a date. With a _girl_. Because she is a _lesbian_.”

Arya throws her hands up in frustration, tears welling up in her eyes.

“God, I _know_ that! I do! I just… _fuck_. This is too much.”

“What is?” Gendry asked, gently, giving Arya the space he knew she needed.

“This! You! Everything! Because eventually there _will_ be a girl and she _won’t_ be a lesbian and I’m…. I’m gonna have to _see you_ with her and _FUCK_!” Arya shoved Gendry.

“It’s too much. And I _hate_ acting like this because I’m _not_ like this! But I can’t help it and it _sucks_ and I just… I don’t know what I’m supposed to fucking _do_!” Arya cried, losing steam as she felt the tears fall. She wiped at her eyes angrily and whispered quietly, almost too quietly for Gendry to hear.

“God, this being in love thing is driving me _crazy_.”

Almost, but not quite.

Gendry approached Arya slowly, shuffling his feet.

“So,” he began, small smile tugging at his lips. “You love me.”

Arya’s head whipped up, eyes big and teary and fearful.

“What? I never said–”

“You _said_ ,” Gendry reached over, placing a tentative hand softly on Arya’s waist, “that this whole being in love thing was driving you crazy.”

He gently titled Arya’s head up in order to get her to look at him, blue eyes meeting grey.

“Ergo, you love me.”

Arya let out a watery laugh and clasped Gendry’s hand in hers, using her other arm to pull him closer to her.

“Fine,” she relented, a grin breaking out on her face. “Ergo, I do.”

**Author's Note:**

> I cut like 1,000 words because I got carried away writing about roommate adventures, so I’m thinking I’ll write some side drabbles eventually. =P


End file.
